SunTrust: Financial Loser

Bank stocks were weak on Monday as investors continued to worry over Europe; meanwhile, Walmart and American Express partnered on a major new service.

Jefferies analyst Ken Usdin rates SunTrust a "Buy," with a $33 price target, and said last Tuesday that "different treatment of the Coke gain across the Street makes it hard to speak to the headline EPS number, but we believe core trends should look good." Jefferies expects "continued strength out of mortgage (only a $3mm decline in production), progress on expenses, and a stable net interest margin excluding the impact of the Coke sale (3bp drag).

Usdin added that the company's "details on loan sales and subsequent reinvestment will be of interest, as it will dictate the 4Q starting point for net interest income."

Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O'Connor rates SunTrust a "Hold," and said last Monday that he expects the company to report third-quarter earnings of $1.96 a share, with "flat/modestly higher loan growth in 3Q--reflecting continued growth in commercial and industrial loans , offset by recently announced loan sales (likely to take place over the next few quarters) and declines in higher-risk segments such as commercial real estate , home equity and mortgage."

O'Connor expects another strong quarter for revenue from mortgage originations and sales, but said "this should be more than offset by the large $375m mortgage putback charge this quarter."

Philip W. van Doorn is a member of TheStreet's banking and finance team, commenting on industry and regulatory trends. He previously served as the senior analyst for TheStreet.com Ratings, responsible for assigning financial strength ratings to banks and savings and loan institutions. Mr. van Doorn previously served as a loan operations officer at Riverside National Bank in Fort Pierce, Fla., and as a credit analyst at the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, where he monitored banks in New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico. Mr. van Doorn has additional experience in the mutual fund and computer software industries. He holds a bachelor of science in business administration from Long Island University.